The newest edition of our “New Research” series provides readers with an opportunity to read some recent archives-related publications. Available here are newly published reports submitted by RAC travel stipends recipients who have spent time immersing themselves in the records that we preserve and make available to the public. These reports showcase the wide range of collections that they have used, spanning different time periods and disciplines. This edition of the series also highlights the global nature of our archives. These reports cite records from the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Davison Fund, as well as the papers of David Rockefeller, Nelson Rockefeller, Berent Friele, and Cary Reich.
“The Ford Foundation and the Creation of the International Baccalaureate” by Julian Cole Phillips
Julian Cole Phillips came to RAC to study the role of the Ford Foundation and other US philanthropies in the development of the International Baccalaureate (IB). His report, “The Ford Foundation and the Creation of the International Baccalaureate,” outlines the extent to which philanthropy underwrote that program’s development, creating a new educational paradigm for international schools. Phillips notes that there was conceptual tension with the development of the program in the 1950s and 1960s. Was it meant to be a program to serve expatriate Americans living abroad, providing students at international schools with a US-centered curriculum? Or was its goal to foster education built on what Julian Cole Phillips calls “international-mindedness,” not serving any particular set of national boundaries? Despite heavy philanthropic backing, from his examination of the records, Phillips found that foundations did not actually play a leadership role in the IB’s direction. He argues that US foundations were not able to reach a clear consensus on which path was preferable; while they supported the program financially, its intellectual framework ultimately was developed by others.
Julian Cole Phillips was a 2023 RAC research stipend recipient. He graduated from New York University’s M.A. program in Near East Studies, and has been affiliated with the American University in Cairo and the United Nations.
“’No Foreign Ideology, No Demographic Concern’: Reproductive Health and Family Planning in Mali, 1968-1973,”
In her report, “ ‘No Foreign Ideology, No Demographic Concern”: Reproductive Health and Family Planning in Mali, 1968-1973,” Devon Golaszewski looks at this West African nation’s approach to population-related issues being raised in global forums and by various philanthropic organizations. She argues that Mali’s rejection of arguments for population control was based on a belief that population should not be separated from broader issues of reproductive and sexual health programs. Her report opens with a discussion of the 1971 African Population Conference in Accra Ghana, which highlighted the growing critique in the Global South against “neo-Malthusian” arguments that overpopulation was at the center of Africa’s development problems and that its control was the critical step to aid Africa. Using the records of the Population Council at RAC, Dr. Golaszewski traces these arguments within that organization, in its participation in various conferences and meetings, and in its initiatives in different countries. She then explores the sources and reasoning for Mali’s rejection of the overpopulation thesis during this period. At the end of her report, Golaszewski offers directions for future research, suggesting that the records encourage further exploration of the differences between Francophone Africa and Anglophone Africa’s approaches to population and reproductive health issues She also argues for the importance of analyzing transnational networks of “gender-rights” activists.
Devon Golaszewski is an assistant professor of history at Colgate University. Her research interests focus on the history of global health, indigenous medicine, and gender in 20th century Mali. She was a 2023 RAC research stipend recipient.
“Berent Friele: Nelson Rockefeller’s Shadow Diplomat in Latin America” by Stig Arild Pettersen
Stig Arild Pettersen is a Norwegian journalist and author who came to RAC to study the life and career of Berent Friele. His research report, “Berent Friele: Nelson Rockefeller’s Shadow Diplomat in Latin America,” tells the story of how a Norwegian-born coffee dealer ultimately became the “right-hand man” of Nelson A. Rockefeller (NAR), and had a major impact on US-Brazilian relations for decades. Primarily using the Berent Friele papers at RAC, along with other Nelson Rockefeller-related collections, Pettersen follows the arc of Friele’s career as he networked extensively with Brazil’s political and economic elites. Friele became NAR’s assistant when Rockefeller headed the Office of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs during World War II. After the war, Friele was active in both the non-profit and for-profit entities that NAR created for economic and social development in Latin America. He continued to serve as NAR’s unofficial ambassador to Brazil when Rockefeller became governor of New York and then US Vice President in the 1970s, using his vast array of local connections to foster US-Brazilian ties. Stig Pettersen closes his report observing that, in light of his devotion to NAR’s agenda, in essence, Berent Friele was Nelson Rockefeller in Brazil.
Stig Arild Pettersen holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). His biography on Norwegian-Brazilian World War II resistance fighter and industrialist Erling Lorentzen was published in 2016. He was a 2019 RAC research stipend recipient.
“The Dawn of Rural Public Health in Japan: Support by the Rockefeller Foundation before and during World War II” by Yuko Kawakami
Yuko Kawakami was awarded a research stipend to come to RAC in 2020, but she had to delay her arrival till November 2022 due to the COVID-related disruptions we all experienced. She came to RAC to explore our archival holdings on philanthropic efforts to foster rural public health in Japan. Her report, “The Dawn of Rural Public Health in Japan: Support by the Rockefeller Foundation before and during World War II” presents her findings to an English-reading audience. She notes that, in Japanese, scholars have already begun studying the development of public health policies and nursing history for the same time period, but her work has focused specifically on these developments in Japan’s rural communities. Drawing from Rockefeller Foundation (RF) and Davison Fund records, she traces the growth of rural health initiatives in the years leading up to World War II. The Rockefeller Foundation-supported St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo played an important role in training nursing and other healthcare personal. So did the RF fellowship program which brought Japanese nurses to the United States for training starting in the 1920s. Professor Kawakami observes that, while US foundations’ connections with Japan were severed during the war (and the lack of related archival records at RAC reflects that reality), in the postwar era, these ties supporting public health were renewed.
Yuko Kawakami is an associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing at Kameda University of Health Sciences. Her research interests include health and welfare activities by Japanese agricultural cooperatives and historical sociological research of public health nursing in rural Japan. She was a 2020 RAC research stipend recipient.
About the RAC Research Stipend Program
The Rockefeller Archive Center offers a competitive research stipend program that provides individuals up to $5,000 for reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses. Learn more on our Research Stipend page.
